Readers write

I have been hearing so much about the drop off in business due to the introduction of paid parking in the downtown of Truckee, I thought I would like to remind us all who pay attention to such things.

The Bypass has been open three years and now all those lake visitors ” Northstar, Kings Beach, Incline ” may now by pass downtown. When the Bypass was being hotly debated pro/con I remember the figures for the drop-off in business dollars to the downtown was sizable and business’s would take time to adjust.

I was told towns with a population of 5,000 and under simply fail. Truckee thankfully has a much larger base population.

The drop off in business in the downtown is due to multiple factors; paid parking is a very, very small part of these overall factors. In time as we all adjust, the visitors to downtown will improve and the flexible paid parking system will help improve downtown Truckee’s parking challenges.

Lets all look to the positive aspects of this flexible paid system, understanding there are always difficulties when we have to pay for something we previously thought was free, ask any of us that have been paying the bills for years. Nothing is free, not even the air we breathe or the water we drink.

Alison Pratt Shelling

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Truckee

I attended the special PUD meeting regarding their proposed broadband project. I left near the end in utter shock and disbelief. The meeting began with a long presentation from a Tennessee town essentially promoting a successful broadband venture. As far as I could determine there’s little to no similarity between that town and ours.

Adding to this dog-and-pony show, ex-board member James Maass appeared at the meeting. He now lives in Sparks, Nev. He was, during his tenure as a board member, a primary mover of the broadband project. Though public input is supposed to be limited per person, he waxed eloquently for probably 30 minutes sounding like a politician running for office.

Cebridge’s representative spoke about opening up dialogue with the PUD. While I don’t know the history between these agencies, it clearly is adversarial. The man was soundly denounced by the chairman of the PUD board. During the meeting Cebridge was frequently spoken of by board members as the enemy (maybe they’ve weapons of mass destruction?).

Issues were raised by the public regarding ratepayer (owner) liability. The PUD manager made a vague statement that he was looking into insurance that would essentially eliminate that liability; no specifics regarding cost or anything. The manager then said the only thing the PUD was intending to do was put cable in the ground and then rent space on it. This was a huge surprise to most board members and the audience. This represented an 180-degree turn from what has been sold to the public all along. The PUD was going to offer cable TV, high-speed Internet, etc.

After giving the meeting a good deal of thought and calming down, I end up feeling manipulated, lied to and deceived. This matter appears to now be a power struggle between Cebridge and the PUD rather than factual economics, consumer need and viability. There was talk of taking another ratepayer poll. That may be a good idea. This time the poll needs to be impartial in wording and sample a significant number and cross section of ratepayers. It needs to be conducted by a professional and impartial agency and the wording of the poll approved for neutrality and factualness by the PUD board.

Rolf Godon

Truckee

Hello from Norway. I am glad I can get you on the Web so that I can keep an eye on what is happening with my favorite town and to say hello to all my friends and Chris Krone and crew and my friends at Wild Cherries. We have had a great winter here, but we are ready for spring. It looks like you are as well. I will be back after spending summer here with my family, and to visit some of the neighboring countries and a longtime Sugar Bowl ski school director Tony Marth’s family in St. Anton, Austria (Tony unfortunately lost his life to cancer last year) and whom I had the pleasure of working with for many years at Sugar Bowl and so many others here in Truckee did too.

I have worked here at the famous “Oscar’s Borg,” (a fort) right below Oslo on the Oslo fjord, where they fought big in World War II and now a hotel, spa, museum, conference center and have lots of history. I miss Truckee and I’ll keep an eye on you on the Web.

Thank you, Sierra Sun, for all the help in the past and for keeping me up to date.

Lisbeth Johansen

DrÃ¸bak, Norway

I agree with the recent “In your face driving” letter (Sierra Sun April 7) about road rage. But I can go one better. Make it a requirement for every motorist to carry a gun. Now let’s see who tailgates or cuts you off. People would think twice about rude driving if they knew you could pull out a gun and shoot them. No more arguments over parking spaces either. Road-rage incidents would drop to zero. I guarantee it. Was there any road rage in the old west? No there wasn’t. Road rage problem solved.